If You Can’t Run with the Big Blogs

Posted March 1st, 2010 / By Brandon Cox in Misc

Some blogs lead, some don’t. That’s okay. Some blogs aren’t designed for leadership and that’s okay too. Some blogs inspire, some educate, and some just share silly pictures and funny videos. But… some blogs lead.

One of the perceptions of leadership in the blogosphere is that the “big blogs” are the leaders. These are the blogs listed in the Technorati Top 100. They are multi-author, celebrity driven, and corporately sponsored. I would contend, however, that a blog doesn’t have to be big to lead, but first let me define leadership. Leadership is influence, plain and simple. If you’re not influencing anyone, you’re not leading, you’re simply going for a walk!

Any blog can lead, and any blogger can influence others. We can shape thought and culture, motivate people to action, rally people to a cause, and provoke creativity. Here’s how…

Provoke Us to Challenge Conventional Thinking Like Seth Godin

Seth has a way of pointing out what we’re all thinking, then flipping it on its head. He’s provocative even when he’s not controversial and he leads by forcing us to think outside the bubble of what’s normally comfortable for us.

Inspire Us to Be Creative Like Vitaly Friedman

Vitaly is the genius heading up Smashing Magazine and Noupe. His blogs pretty much defined the “list post” before anyone else was doing it. Smashing Magazine is a creative industry “go to” resource and a common favorite of every kind of designer. He sets trends.

Share Your Wealth of Knowledge Like John Maxwell

John Maxwell has written dozens of books on leadership and has taught leaders and CEO’s in numerous Fortune 100 companies. He’s one of the most respected motivational speakers on the planet. His blog is the overflow of his writing and teaching career. He wrote a book, sharing a chapter at a time while allowing commenters to shape and edit his thoughts and consistently pours his words into leaders of industry every time he releases a post.

Teach and Model Great Principles Like John Jantsch

John Jantsch knows business and especially knows small business marketing. He understands that it all works a bit like duct tape – the universal problem-fixer. John consistently shares very practical and usable material on his Duct Tape Marketing blog. Many of his articles would be a part of premium content or seminar curriculum.

Do Everything Wrong Like Leo Babauta

Leo Babauta does it all wrong! He only displays one ad per page load. There’s no color, no gimmicks, no graphics… just consistently awesome content. Leo leads by simplicity. He’s a master of real minimalism and cuts away all the clutter that distracts from the one single idea he’s getting across. And this is highly effective.

Call Your Industry to Excellence Like John Saddington

John Saddington (with his awesome internet identity, human3rror) began a blogging journey a couple of years ago seeking to lead his own niche to step ahead of the crowd. If anyone seems to trail behind in innovation, it’s the church, and John is shaking all of that up. He recently led in the launch of the 8Bit Network, which seems to be the first and only network of its kind functioning well in its peculiar atmosphere.

The old adage is “if you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch.” Maybe we should challenge that statement a bit. If you can’t run with the big blogs (if you can’t be the multi-author, corporately-sponsored mega-magazine-blog, create your own realm of influence. Lead those who will listen. Do something different and do it with both excellence and passion.

People are just waiting for you to lead!